Linen Press new novel: Blue Eyes by Hema Macherla

LAST BLOG FROM THE OLD LINEN PRESS WEBSITE

The slice of a book cover in the heading to this blog has been a tease and I’ve waited far too long to show you more.

Now the novel is published and I want to tell you about it.

But first here is the full cover in all its glory. It was created by Nicola Regan who has taken on all the design work for Linen Press. Nicola understands the ethos of Linen Press and is wonderfully enthusiastic about what we do. Her bold, innovative visual skills are perfect for this women’s press.

BLUE EYES by HEMA MACHERLA

 

AVAILABLE VERY SOON FROM THE NEW LINEN PRESS WEBSITE

Set in Gandhi’s volatile India, the story opens with Anjali, aged eighteen, about to be burnt alive on her husband’s funeral pyre – the conventional widow’s fate.

After a dramatic escape, things go badly wrong and she embarks on an extraordinary, often terrifying, journey of discovery.

Saleem, Anjali’s childhood friend, is entwined in her destiny. As he searches for her, he is caught up in the violence surrounding India’s struggle for freedom.

At the heart of this fast-moving narrative is the love of two men for one woman.

Reviews

‘ Compelling, charming and utterly convincing from the very first page. Hema Macherla is a writer to watch.’

Lesley Horton, Crime Writer

‘ A stunning novel about irrational traditions and conflicts, and the courage to overcome all odds. A must read for all.’

Smita Singh, Chairperson VAANI, Asian Writers and Artists

Hema’s first novel, Breeze From The River Manjeera, received a swathe of awards. This one is just as good if not better. Everyone who has read it has said they could not put it down. Hema is a born story-teller who will keep you turning the pages until the very end.

Awards for Breeze from The River Manjeera

Short listed for Richard and Judy

Winner of The Big Red Read  2009

National Reading Hero 2008

Reviews for Breeze From The Rive Manjeera

A beautiful love story with a strong theme…

Lesley Horton, Crime novelist.

I really enjoyed reading this novel. There are pleanty of twists and turns to keep the reader hooked.

Maggie Hamand, Novelist and publisher

Hema Macherla is a talented  writer, an observer of life and human relationships, culture  and customs.  As a poet, writer, novelist and critic, I believe it is one of the best novels I have ever read.

Y. Vidyasagar, Poet & Writer

 

 

How much will you pay for a book?

I’ve been pondering this a lot recently because Linen Press is going to have to put up the price of its books. With three new novels about to go to print, I have had to decide on a RRP and, after taking advice and adding up sums, it is going to be £11.99.

I bet that will put off lots of readers.

But here’s the twist. I will sell the same books on my website for £7.99 or £8.99, even less if you buy two or three together, so the RRP means very little. However, it is all part of a cunning plot against Amazon who take 60% of my RRP plus £2 for postage. I can’t break even from Amazon sales. I lose money every time someone buys one of my books from them.

I have blogged about this before on Nicola Morgan’s website, but it needs repeating and repeating so people understand why small publishers go out of business and why we have to charge more for our books than the big comglomerates.

Here are the sums for the three novels that will be published by Linen Press next month:

All design work including covers and type-setting £3500

Copyediting £1335

Images for covers £375

Printing  £6300 + carriage

So that’s £11510 for 1000 copies of each of 3 books + VAT

£3837 for each 1000 copies of each book

£3.84 unit price

That’s £3.84 per book + 7.5% royalties to the author.

Let’s call it a round £4 to produce and print a Linen Press book.

Of course the big guys can produce their books more cheaply because they do runs of hundreds of thousands and have in-house staff to do design and copy-editing. And they have a Publicity department. They can afford those places on the tables and the 3 for 2 deals. I can’t.

Supposing I priced my books at a regular £7.99.

Here are three scenarios:

1.  You buy a Linen Press book from Amazon:

Cost of book to Linen Press = £4

Amazon takes 60% of RRP = £4.80

I pay postage and packing = £2

Total cost to LP is £10.80.

Linen Press loses £2.80 on every copy sold.

OUCH!!

2. You buy the same book from Waterstones:

Cost of book to Linen Press = £4

Waterstones takes 50% of RRP = £4

Total cost to LP is £8.

Linen Press covers its costs.

3. You buy the book from the Linen Press website:

Cost of book to Linen Press = £4

You pay £8 on the website.

Linen Press makes a profit of £4.

Remember these costs are for a run of 1000 books which I have paid for.

1. So if I sold all 1000 books on Amazon I would lose £2,800.

2. If I sold all 1000 books at Waterstones I would break even. Nothing left over to plough into the next publications.

3. And if I sold 1000 copies on my website, I would cover my costs AND make £500. One eighth of the cost of the next publication.

The only way of paying for one new publication would be to add £3.50 to the RRP and sell all 1000 books from the website.  And pigs may fly.

And my salary? Don’t be silly!

The books in the photo range in price  from £3.99 (SONS) to £37.95 on Amazon for the Oxford University Press textbook. Childhood’s Hill, published by Linen Press, was ludicrously underpriced at £8.99 with two sections of painstakingly restored old photographs. Breeze From The River Manjeera costs £10. The Maigret novels by Simenon cost £7.99 at Waterstones and are usually under 200 pages. What’s a fair price for a book? I know I’m not comparing like for like but even so…

The result of all these sums is a big headache for me and Linen Press.

But now you understand why the RRP on Linen Press books will be £11.99 in future, but you will pay less if you order from the website. And even then, the best I can hope for, realistically, with a mixture of Amazon and book shop and website sales is to scrape by for another year.

But let’s not end on a gloomy note.  If Linen Press lands a best seller which is on Asda’s shelves and sells thousands in the mass paperback market and is translated into several languages and is made into a Hollywood film with Kiera Knightly and Colin Firth………….

What do I wear on the red carpet?

XXX

Dancing

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to

end, but learning to dance in the rain!”

Feisty Blue Gecko – A Tail of the Unexpected

Thank you, Phillippa, from Myanmar, Asia.